This invention relates generally to a system and method for the viewing of a three-dimensional image from a representation of a two-dimensional figure.
Within the past decade there has been extensive development and application of the computer generated graphical display. Such displays have been extensively applied in aeronautical, civil and mechanical engineering, in electronics, architecture, medical technology and the sciences. While all computer graphic representations are necessarily two-dimensional, there is often a desire to present the appearance of three-dimensional objects and ingenious techniques for such representations have been developed. Among some of the methods which have been used are (i) displaying several orthogonal views; (ii) providing a perspective display of the scene with (a) wire-frame drawings, (b) outline drawings with hidden lines removed, or (c) shaded drawings of objects; and (iii) stereoscopic drawings in which the right and left eyes are presented with slightly different drawings corresponding to the view each eye would normally see of the object.
In one type of conventional stereoscopic drawings a three-dimensional representation is obtained by presenting to the two eyes simultaneously two slightly different pictures corresponding to the view normally seen by either the right or the left eye. Such stereoscopic drawings have appeared in the literature as aids in visualizing the results of crystal structure determinations. In order to view the three-dimensional image, one needs a viewer which will limit the field of vision of each eye to just one of the two drawings. With practice it is also possible for a person to learn to fuse the images without the aid of the special viewer.
Another conventional method which attempts to give the appearance of a three-dimensional image employs the raster principle in which the two views are broken up into narrow vertical strips and the light from each strip is selectively directed towards either the right or the left eye so that each eye sees a slightly different view of the same scene. This method is currently exploited in picture post cards, novelty items and some children's books.
Moire patterns are produced when figures with periodic rulings are made to overlap. Such patterns will not generally provide a three-dimensional effect.